


Battles Fought Before

by Sweets_Thief



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Battle of Five Armies, Helms Deep, comparison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 05:35:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3238229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweets_Thief/pseuds/Sweets_Thief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Legolas fought the Battle of Five Armies alongside Thranduil and did not go off to Gundabad. </p>
<p>Legolas reflects on the death and destruction during the Battle of Five Armies on the eve of the Battle of Helms Deep and wonders how he had ended up in the same position again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Battles Fought Before

**Author's Note:**

> SO i finally got around to watching the Battle of Five Armies film and i have to say i liked it a lot more than i thought i would /o/ i also noticed a lot of parallels between Helms Deep in the Two Towers film and in the battle sequence of BOTFA and this idea came to me. It sort of annoyed me that Legolas just walked out on Thranduil, so i decided to change it and write it as if Legolas was there for the entire battle.
> 
> Idk if it makes sense?? it was sort of thrown together bc i had the idea and i rly wanted to write it but hopefully youll enjoy it :L its sort of a mixture of book canon, movie canon and a little bit of headcanon in there as well for good measure.

 

He wore a mask, it was what made the men of Rohan so wary of him and Legolas knew it. But now, on the eve of the battle of Helms Deep he could wear no mask. The men and the boys of Rohan were arming themselves, getting ready for the battle of their lives and they would make many pointless sacrifices. He had seen it before, at least sixty years earlier when he had stood by his father’s side outside the gates of Erebor. Many lives had been lost that day, many innocent lives and Legolas did not want a repeat of that.

“Look at them, they’re afraid, I can see it in their eyes,” He snapped as the men of Rohan sorted out weapons amongst themselves. Aragorn and Gimli were among them, and Legolas felt his frustration coming forth.  
“And they should be!” the elf continued, unable to stop himself now. “300, against 10,000!”

Aragorn turned to him, his expression soft to calm the elf down but there was no stopping Legolas. “They have a chance my friend.”

“They have no chance!” Legolas shouted, slipping into elvish so the men around them couldn’t guess what they were talking about. “They’re all going to die!”

“Then I shall die as one of them!” Aragorn yelled, turning his back on the elf and stalking off. Legolas made to follow him but the hand of his dwarven friend stopped him. Closing his eyes Legolas let out a breath before turning and stalking in the other direction. Gimli watched him go and said nothing, standing among the men as they went back to arming themselves.

Breaking from the ranks of men, Legolas climbed the walls of Helms Deep until he was sat alone on the ramparts, his elven vision picking each torch the Uruk Hai were carrying out of the darkness. A slight breeze danced through his hair, and Legolas closed his eyes again to enjoy it. Curling his hands to fists Legolas attempted to block out the screams that were echoing through his memories. How had he gotten into this position again? The first time it had been through desperation to help his father reclaim the only remaining fragment of his mother from the dwarves of Erebor. Now, he was helping the men of a distant land try to survive against the self-same evil that he had fought sixty years before. It was like it was yesterday for the elven prince, Legolas remembered the detail so clearly. Opening his eyes and focusing on the pinpricks of light in the distance Legolas allowed his memory to wander, to take him back to that battle when so many innocent people had been killed.

_//_

_The King under the mountain had refused to give the men and the elves what they desired, and Legolas was shocked that Thorin would go to war over something as meagre as gold. Thranduil however was not, and he stood before his son the night before they were to march to the very gates of Erebor with a tired look on his face._

_“We don’t have to do this,” Legolas said, “You have your memories of her, surely they are enough?”_

_Thranduil looked at his son and smiled softly. “Legolas I have memories and you have nothing.”_

_“I do not need anything if it will lead to war!” Legolas exclaimed, “I don’t want our friends and kin put in danger over some gems, it’s pointless.”_

_“You are young,” Thranduil countered quietly, “You do not understand why this is going to happen, not properly. Come Legolas, sit quietly with me on the eve of battle. I fear we will not have much time to enjoy after this.”_

_Legolas did not complain, joining his father in his tent and sinking to the floor. He rested his head on his lap and Thranduil carded his fingers through Legolas’ silken hair. Legolas’ eyes slipped closed in relaxation as Thranduil began to hum, a soft tune that he had sang for Legolas since he had been a babe. Outside the tent the men of Lake Town were preparing for the coming battle, training into the dawn because none of them had the military training they needed for the full scale war that both Thranduil and Thorin were planning._

_//_

_Legolas was the first to arm himself after Thorin shot an arrow at his father, narrowly missing the feet of his mount. To show such disrespect to another king, regardless of past argument, was unheard of and it was only Thranduil’s quick motion that stopped Legolas and the thousands of elves behind him from shooting the thirteen dwarves dead. The negotiations continued, with Bard using the Arkenstone as a bargaining chip, but still Thorin refused to yield. It was then the thundering began and Legolas turned to find a dwarven army running down the hill to the East of them, reinforcements for the small dwarven company in the mountains._

_The exchange between Thranduil, Gandalf and Dain went by so quickly Legolas barely had time to process it before orcs were spilling out of holes hewn in the Earth by monster long thought forgotten._

_“Stay close to me,” Thranduil murmured, gesturing for Legolas to join his side. Legolas nodded, drawing his bow, ready to shoot down the new enemy. The dwarves moved first and for a moment Legolas found himself wondering whether Thranduil was going to order the elves to accompany them. At the last second the elves leapt over the dwarven shields into the fray and Legolas kicked his mount forward to join them. Thranduil cried for Legolas to stop but the elf ignored his father’s commands, joining the fray as quickly as he could and cutting down orcs left and right._

_It was a mess. The dwarves and elves fought as they had been trained to do from a young age but the men of Lake Town, desperate because of their circumstances, were mown down as easily as blades of grass in the wind. Legolas abandoned his mount within minutes of the fighting, it was too thick to ride among the fighting. Trying to focus on the enemy proved easy enough, until the cry came for the men to return to the ruins of Dale so that the orcs could not cut them off, surround them and eliminate them. Legolas joined the men, rushing back to the city ahead of the host of elves because he had lost contact with his father. Many of the men were fighting for their lives and within the confines of the city it was harder for Legolas to ignore their deaths and focus solely on the enemy. Bard was there, fighting with all he had, desperately looking for his family as he cut down orc after orc. Legolas found himself pressed up against the man at one point, back to back, one shooting them down the other cutting them down with a sword._

_“Where are my children!?” Bard yelled. Legolas turned, his back pressed against Bard’s, his eyes scanning the terrified people of Lake Town for any sign of the children attached to the Bowman. He had only seen them once, fleetingly, but he remembered them clearly._

_“Da!”_

_A scream came from their left and both Legolas and Bard turned to see Tilda, Bain and Sigrid cowering before a large mutated orc. Bain held a sword but Legolas could see it wavering in his hands. Bard was moving before the elf could process it, an impressive feat for a mortal man. Grabbing a cart Bard rode it towards his children to protect them from the enemy and Legolas was once again caught up in the rush of people trying to escape and ward off the orcs from the ruins of Dale. He hoped the next time he saw the Bowman he was alive and with his children._

_He didn’t know how long had passed but Legolas soon found the forces growing thinner and soon the fighting had all but ceased in the city itself. The dwarves led by Dain and accompanied now by Thorin and his companions were still fighting but there was a lull in the city. Legolas dropped his weapons and looked around him. Elves and men lay together, dead and dying, and Legolas saw many young faces among the dead. Sorrow welled up in him but the prince held back his tears, telling himself he had to remain strong for those that were still living._

_Where were Bard and his children? Where was his father? Where were the young boys that Legolas had been fighting the orcs with? Some of them he recognised among the dead, along with elves he had known nearly his entire life. Why had it come to this? Was the gold in Erebor really worth all this bloodshed? Was the domination of one mountain the reason behind such slaughter? Legolas cursed the dwarves, the orcs, cursed the darkness that had sent their enemies upon them and stooped to take up his weapon again. A pale hand stopped him. Jolting up Legolas found himself looking at the face of Thranduil, blood-spattered but relieved to see Legolas alive._

_“Father…” Legolas muttered, “Why?”_

_Thranduil said nothing, merely drew his son into a hug and hid Legolas’ sight from the carnage around him, despite the fact that it was too late. “I’ve got you,” Thranduil murmured, “I’m here Legolas.”_

_Legolas felt his eyes tearing up again and found himself crying into Thranduil’s bloody army. Crying for the elves they had lost, for the human lives that had been cut short so cruelly by the blade of an enemy they had thought long vanquished. He cried for everything and Thranduil held him tightly._

_“How do you get used to it?” Legolas asked, his voice hoarse from sobs._

_“You don’t.” Thranduil replied firmly, pushing Legolas back and looking straight into his eyes, “You never get used to it Legolas and that is a good thing. When you are used to the death of your comrades and the death of those around you, you are no longer a good person.”_

_“Then why do you fight?” Legolas pressed. “If it’s horrible for you every time why do you fight?”_

_“Because I am a King and I must stand strong through the battles and the hardship for my people.” Thranduil explained quietly, “As the leader you must always face the hardship with a mask and you must never let people know how much sorrow there is inside you, it is a private matter. They must never see you fail for they must always believe you are strong enough to lead them, to see them through any crisis.”_

_“So I’m a bad leader for crying here?” Legolas asked._

_Thranduil shook his head and pulled Legolas close again, “You have much to learn my son. Do not push yourself when you are still young.”_

_Legolas nodded and buried his face again in his father’s chest, hiding himself from the carnage around him. Thranduil allowed it until the other surviving elves found them and they had to reform their forces and return to the battle._

_//_

_“Master elf,”_

_Legolas turned at the words and found himself face to face with Bard. The Bowman was scratched and bleeding but he was alive. Sigrid, Tilda and Bain stood behind him, tired and grubby but also very much alive and Legolas was glad to see them. Too many young lives had been lost._

_“Thank you,” Bard continued, “For fighting with us and keeping as many people safe as you could.”_

_“It is my duty,” Legolas replied, recalling his father’s previous words._

_“That is a hard duty,” Bard commented with a wry smile, “But you still have my thanks.”_

_“I am glad you and your children are safe. My father and I shall help you rebuild Dale to its former glory and keep you through the winter.”_

_Bard nodded and smiled warmly, “Thank you master elf, you are too kind.”_

_Legolas shook his head, “Too many lives have been lost, we do not want the winter to claim more.”_

_With that said Legolas turned on his heel and walked off to find his father, leaving Bard to comfort his children alone. The role of a leader was to internalise the pain felt of loss and to help them deal with it whenever they could. Legolas would play this role, he had to, as someone who was born to be a leader._

_//_

Legolas jumped as a hand touched his shoulder and brought him from his memories of that fateful battle at Dale. A young boy was stood before him carrying a small portion of food.

“Master elf you’ve been up here for a while,” The boy said, offering him the food, “Surely you’re hungry?”

Legolas blinked at the boy before smiling. “Thank you my friend but please you eat this food. I am not hungry and you shall need all the sustenance you can get.”

“But I-.”

“Please,” Legolas insisted, “I am trained for battle and you are not. Eat and it shall give you the strength to get through.”

“You don’t believe we can though,” The boy pointed out, “You said so yourself.”

“How do you know what I said?” Legolas asked, “I spoke elvish.”

“The tone and the way that Aragorn responded,” The boy admitted, “Many assumed that you did not believe we could win.”

Legolas surveyed the boy and cocked his head to the side. “I have seen battles such as this before, when those untrained were forced to fight,” He began. “And the pointless slaughter that is to come is something I do not wish to witness again. But I shall stand firm by your side and make sure that those who can shall survive this battle alongside me.”

“Master elf…” The boy trailed off before a smile split his features. “Thank you! With an elf on our side we’re sure to win.”

“Only if you eat.” Legolas smiled, “Please excuse me.”

The boy nodded and turned his attention to the food. Legolas left the ramparts and made his way through Helms Deep, looking for one man only. The men of Rohan watched him and Legolas could see the hurt and the anger in their eyes, they were annoyed that he had claimed they could not win. But they had not seen what Legolas had and did not know the horrors that were coming to them. Soon they would, but Legolas would not cower any longer. He was a prince and he was going to support these men so that as many as could survive would.

He found Aragorn in one of the rooms below the outer walls getting ready for the battle. Taking up Aragorn’s sword Legolas handed it to his friend. Aragorn watched him warily.

“My father once told me that a leader has to remain strong so that they are always seen as a leader, so that people can turn to them in a crisis.” Legolas spoke before Aragorn could and Aragorn’s expression changed from wariness to a smile instantly, “I slipped from my duty as a prince before and I am sorry for it. The men of Rohan have a chance, no matter how slim and I shall stand by their side to lead them through it if I need to.”

Aragorn grasped Legolas’ shoulder tightly. “I know what you have seen my friend and I am glad that you have decided to stand and fight.”

“I would never abandon people in need.” Legolas said, “And I will not abandon you either my friend. I have trusted you this far and you have not led me astray. Forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive.” Aragorn said firmly, “I understand. But this is not the Battle of Five Armies.”

“No the prospects are much worse,” Legolas stated, “I would love an army of elves at my back to face ten-thousand Uruk Hai. And there will still be pointless slaughter.”

“It is not pointless Legolas.” Aragorn countered, “The lives of the men that will inevitably be lost tonight are for the freedom of their wives, of their children, of their country. That is not a pointless sacrifice.”

“Perhaps I see it differently because I am not mortal but to me the loss of a life so young is pointless.” Legolas sighed and shook his head. He grasped Aragorn’s shoulder in response and took a steadying breath. “Regardless of how I feel I am a leader and I shall go out into this battle with the countenance of one. I shall not allow my fears and my grievances to be known.”

“And if you’re anything like your father you shall wear such a mask that not even an elf would be able to see through it,” Aragorn laughed. Legolas joined in his laughter despite the niggling in the back of his mind that Helms Deep was going to turn out just like the battle from sixty years ago.  
“I shall be by your side my friend to support you, do not forget that.” Aragorn added.

Legolas smiled, “I know my friend. We are together and together we shall be victorious.”

“Let us go to war.” Aragorn exclaimed, buckling his sword to his waist and pulling on his gloves.

Legolas ran a hand through the full quiver of arrows behind him and nodded. “To war my friend.”

 


End file.
